When Prozac was introduced in the U.S., it had such a high standing that punk songs about the drug became popular. In Japan, these days the numbers of those who have depression are increasing, and we often see TV commercials featuring depression with the message “Depression is the common cold of mind. If you catch it, feel free to see a specialist.”

When I went to see a dentist who has a clinic in a large office building, we talked about the TV commercial featuring depression. The dentist, who is in her 40s said with a frown, “It seems that many depressed patients go to see a doctor as they see the commercial suggesting they can recover from depression quickly because it’s the common cold of mind. But I think that is a problem.”

“Why?” I asked to her. She said, “One of my clients, a salaried worker who was my client for a long time. He had depression and started from a mild antidepressant. So far, he was okay, but he got worse over the years, expressing himself with bizarre words and attitudes. He didn’t recover from it like a cold. Instead, he shut himself off from work. Maybe he took a leave of absence or left his company. There are more people among my clients who make their depression worse and stopped coming to this clinic. It is such a problem for me too.”

Indeed, it’s a big problem. Today, many temporary workers tend to keep their savings for the time when they are unemployed. On the other hand, full-time workers feel stress all the time with a fear of getting downsized depending on their company’s performance. Even those who are on a career ladder in a prestigious company think they must survive internal competition when they see their seniors are sent out to affiliated companies and their salaries are suddenly reduced by nearly one-third.